On Monday, Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, proclaimed his support for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, over Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s candidate.
“I’m a member of the PDP and glad to be a member of the PDP but I am one that is very ‘Obidient’,” Ifaluyi-Isibor said on Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily.
Ifaluyi-Isibor, Director of Mobilization for the Nigeria Diaspora Youth Coalition for Peter Obi, declared that he is not swayed by party loyalty and that he is not have to be a member of the Labour Party in order to support its presidential candidate.
The former representative from Edo Central claimed that the APC and the central government took the people for granted and that Nigerians are tired and frustrated and that things cannot carry on as they are.
Peter Obi is the “poster boy for the revolution” for a new system, according to Ifaluyi-Isibor.
Obi’s supporters have developed and accepted the moniker “Obidient” to express their support for the 61-year-bid old’s for the presidency in 2023.
When asked if his behavior may be interpreted as anti-party, the lawmaker from Edo responded, “My loyalty is first to my conscience, then to my nation, then to any other engagement which includes the political party.
“Being a member of the PDP, I am participating in all the electoral processes and I was more or less the spokesperson of the PDP in 2015 when we had that election.
“So, I have been a major player in the PDP but the development of Nigeria, the salvation that Nigeria needs is not vested in a political party any longer. You have people who are members of the PDP, members of the APC, and members of all kinds of political parties who support Mr Peter Obi because it transcends the political parties; we are trying to save our lives and not to save the political parties.”
The PDP member claimed that those who claim that Obi just has a social media following are scared.
Although he supported former Vice President Atiku in the 2019 presidential election, he claimed that due to Obi’s track record, he changed his support to the former governor of Anambra State for the 2023 presidency.
“We cannot continuously pretend that all is well and because I am a member of the PDP, then whoever the PDP candidate is, then you must support. That is not how democracy plays out in other developed economies. There are members of the Democrat Party who support Republican candidates and vice-versa. So, it is about the capacity, the competence and the capability of the individuals,” Ifaluyi-Isibor stated.
Before switching to the Labour Party in May 2022 and competing as Atiku’s running mate in the most recent presidential election, Obi was a PDP presidential candidate.
The Independent National Electoral Commission said that the official start of the campaigning will be on September 28, 2022. Along with Atiku and Obi, Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and candidate for the All Progressives Congress, is also vying for Aso Rock in the February 2023 presidential election, which pundits have dubbed a three-horse race.
GOGAN Media.